Renewed Interest
by UnluckyAmulet
Summary: Aina Yumataiya is a faded but skilled Deus, but has lost interest in Angelic Layer. Then she gets involved in an accident, waking with amnesia. Can she find new joy in Angelic Layer? And why is someone determined to make sure her memory stays lost?
1. Crash and Fall

Hi readers. Just to say I don't own Angelic Layer or anything by Clamp. Aina I do own. This is my second Angelic Layer fanfic. Rated T for some language in later chapters.

Enjoy!

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"Look!"

The crowd peered upward at the huge screen. Two Angels stood bodies in a fighting position. One Angel was small and slight, obviously female, dressed in a glittering leotard. The other Angel was tall and wide, and its gender was much more difficult to confirm. Its face was hidden, a helmet that look faintly like a motor-bike one rested upon its head, a dark grey visor covering the Angel's facial features. The female Angel moved first, small body leaping up into the air, one foot flying out and kicking the bulkier Angel hard in the face. A gasp came from the crowd.

Aina Yumataiya sighed, taking another spoonful of her somewhat melted ice cream. As a seasoned Angelic Layer deus, she knew the out-come of the match already; she had seen fights like that many times.

Aina licked her lip, sombre pale blue eyes flicking away from the window and back to her table. She couldn't help admitting to herself that she was a little bored. Having no desire for another microwaved meal, she had opted to go out to eat and was sitting in one of Tokyo's most modern restaurants. Getting a quiet booth to herself, she'd had time to think and reflect, but now she was finished with all that. Making a slightly irritated noise in her throat, she dug around in her handbag until she found her mobile. Stabbing a message with one finger, she quickly sent a text to her driver to come pick her up. She was tempted to add 'Quickly' in her message, but thought against it.

People talked and laughed in the small restaurant, though Aina could feel people near her shoot quick, furtive glances at her. She stifled another sigh. It was clear what they were thinking.

She supposed that was how it looked. Like she'd been stood up or something.

If only that had been the case.

The argument ran around stubbornly in her head, like a dog chasing its own tail. No matter how hard Aina tried to concentrate on other things, the echoes continued to repeat in her mind. Perhaps her depression was working its way into her features too- the strange woman sitting alone, looking like she was considering drowning herself in her ice-cream.

But really, she couldn't care less what these people thought. They had no idea who she was, most likely. This thought did not improve her already low mood. To these people, she was just some random woman on her own. They didn't know that she was once like the people they were currently goggling at on the screen.

But, of course, it had been months since she had had an Angelic Fight. New Deuces were always coming in, and attention would turn to them, leaving others pushed into the background. If Aina had been doing Angelic Layer for a long time, she might not feel so bitter about it. But the fact was, she had only been in Angelic Layer for a few years, and already she was being pushed away without an actual, memorable moment in the spotlight.

It wasn't as though she was craving fame, or money, particularly. But she didn't like just being overlooked. Like a birthday present that had been put aside, already forgotten in all the excitement over the new ones.

And her Angels had been forgotten, too. That was probably what Aina resented the most. It's not like any of the other Deuces had any more talent than she did, aside from making their dolls fight.  
Aina knew that.

It was a different matter on the Layer. On the layer, her Angels weren't just dolls that she controlled. They were primed weapons, pitting against those of others, fighting with the passion and imagination their owners had created them with, what they were intended to be inside. The Angels were not simply dolls. They were idols. People wanted to reach out and touch them, even a simple look at the legendary fighting machines. And there were only Aina's to belong to. Nobody else could have these legendary items that were watched and, though it sounded arrogant to say, admired. Aina knew there were plenty of other Angels who were even more aspired then hers, but all the same...

Aina looked down at the rest of her food, and pushed it firmly away with one finger. Their tastes seemed like an insult to the one already in her mouth.

The taste of power.

Yes. Aina may be forgotten, swept under the rug like a grimy penny, but she still had a status. She was something, someone, even if there were always new something's there to replace her. A smile appeared on her face, though a bitter expression was in her eyes.

"Miss Yumataiya?"

Aina turned, lavender, shoulder-length hair glinting slightly under the bold lighting of the booth.

"Yes?"

Her driver, Gorou Asaji had come in, wearing his usual expression.

"Are you almost ready to go?"

Aina glanced back at her meal. She decided to finish off her drink. But as she reaching out for the wineglass, something slightly odd happened.

The glass cracked.

Not a deep crack, meaning that the glass split. It happened from under the surface, but it was a deep crack, almost like a clear fissure.

Aina withdrew her hand, frowning at the wineglass. She could see her reflection had become slightly distorted, split in two like a funhouse mirror.

"I'm ready." she told Gorou, standing up. She left money on the table, exiting, casting a last glance at the wineglass.

"Where to, Miss Yumataiya?"

"I just want to go home, please."

"Sure."

The car set off. Maybe the driver could sense Aina's depressed mood, because he didn't try and engage her in small talk. While Aina was usually a relatively easy person to talk to, when she was in this kind of mood, he knew better then to try and get her to do something until she was quite ready.  
Aina stared out of the window, watching the buildings and people go by. She felt small, in that car, one of the many cars on the road. She brushed a couple of crumbs off the sleeves of her Yukata, which was decorated with pale lavender flowers. Now that Aina was out of the restaurant, she felt better, although she could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. She leant against the back of the seat, and shut her eyes.

"Damn..." the driver muttered, the car stopping slightly abruptly.

"Something wrong?" Aina asked him, without opening her eyes.

"Some guy just cut me off, that's all."

The car resumed motion. Aina felt strangely light-headed. Then, suddenly, she heard a shout, and there was a screeching of breaks.

Time seemed to slow down. As Aina's eyes flew open, she saw the front of a bright red car slam into the side, glass shattering and raining out onto the seat. Aina was thrown back, her head slammed into the door and she was plunged into blackness. The last thing she heard before she lost consciousness was a horrified silence.

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A/N: Don't worry, the next chapters will have more Angelic Layer stuff in then this one.

Reviews are very nice.


	2. What Aina Lost

_"What do you want to do when you grow up, Aina?"  
"I wanna be an Angel!"  
"People can't be Angels, honey."  
"Yes I will! I'll fly away and show you all!"_

_It is an early memory. Aina cannot quite remember how old she was, or who she was even speaking to. Her voice is the part that stays the same. The voice of the other speaker, a woman, is usually in the same meditative tone. That part of the memory isn't important. But for some reason, it's been something that has always stuck out in her mind, like a song that won't stop playing. Back when Aina dreamt of flying...  
__  
..._

It seemed like fog was lifting. Aina's eyelids felt heavy, like tiny weights were resting on them. Dimly, she noted that her body was oddly hot and restricted, and she could only vaguely feel her arms and legs. Her forehead was also hot, her fringe tickling her cheek, but her body felt stiff and sluggish.  
Then she heard talking, and she could tell it was light, even with her eyes shut. She fought the desperate desire to go to sleep, but it was impossible...

* * *

"...Traumati-...amn...ia. We hav-...seri- of...(something)...scans...los-..."

"But-...Can we...(something) ...desi...(something) she ca- ...reli-...(something)..."

"(something...Doctor Haniware, I thi..."

Aina's sleep-foggy mind suddenly stirred at the broken-off mismatched words that suddenly reached her ears. Although her eyes were shut, she could see that she must be somewhere fairly brightly lit. Opening her left eye a crack, the bright light greeted it. She quickly shut it again, and found herself wishing for the almost gentle touch of darkness again. The words, however, wouldn't leave her alone.  
Although Aina could tell that the people around her were still talking, she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. The words were like wasps- Buzzing and droning annoyingly, but insignificant and irritating.

She tried to sit up, then grunted and fell back, catching the attention of the three other people in the room.

"Miss Yumataiya?"

She recognised the first voice as the one of her manager, Mr. Kujima. She nodded once, feeling as though her limbs had already given up on her. She desperately wanted to go back to sleep- so she didn't have to put up with the steady pounding of her head or the persistent light.

"Ah, Miss Yumataiya." greeted the Doctor. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, with somewhat ruffled brown hair and dark slate-coloured eyes. "I'm glad to see you've regained consciousness."

At a loss for anything to say, Aina settled for a stiff,

"Thank you."

The Doctor laughed good-naturedly. Aina tried her best not to wince- Her head was throbbing and she was using most of the little energy she had to keep herself awake. They were all looking at her expectantly, but Aina didn't know or care what it was they were expecting her to do.

"How do you feel?" Mr. Kujima asked, softly. Aina blinked tiredly, appearing to consider the question.

"...Tired." she settled for eventually, closing her eyes again. The nurse glanced at the Doctor and Mr. Kujima, her expression almost pained.

"Aina..." Mr. Kujima said, in almost the same tone her had before, except that he sounded suddenly sad. Aina opened her eyes again, a feeling of sudden panic sliver down her back. Mr. Kujima rarely called her by her first name, and when he did it was usually not followed by something pleasant. She stared at him, willing him to speak. She did not like being kept in suspense.

"Aina...you've been in a crash." Mr Kujima explained, making sure to keep his voice low and quiet. "Haniware-sensei thinks that you may have Traumatic Amnesia...we don't know how badly it will effect you."

Aina remained silence for a moment, absorbing this. Her brain was immediately filled with worried thoughts- Traumatic Amnesia? What did that mean? Could she...could she have forgotten something very important? All she had thought of since she had woken up was her state- trying to puzzle out why she felt so weak. Now she felt vaguely guilty.

"Am I...okay?" she managed to say, swallowing. Her throat had gone very dry. The Doctor and Mr. Kujima exchanged looks. Aina glanced at the nurse, who was much younger, then the two men. Blonde, rather hurried-looking. Soft brown eyes.

"You have a mild concussion." Doctor Haniware told her, holding a clipboard out in front of him. "Nothing too severe, physically. Your elbow did fracture in the accident, however."

"...Accident?" Aina repeated a feeling of something close to weariness suddenly bearing down on her. The nurse and Doctor exchanged worried looks at that. Aina's head, still seeming to pulsate with pain, didn't seem to want to take in this stream of information at once.  
But something was telling her that she had to ask something, something important, but her tongue seemed to have glued itself to the roof of her mouth. She frowned again, trying to discreetly to feel around in her mouth with her tongue for moisture. Doctor Haniware was saying something, though to whom Aina couldn't be sure.

"...A series of tests...not entirely sure of the results." he was saying, apparently to Mr. Kujima and the nurse.

"How long..." Aina began, then coughed, her throat burning. Doctor Haniware stopped speaking, waiting patiently for her to finish.

"How long have I been unconscious?" Aina finally managed to say, attempting to sound at least a little more dignified.

"Three weeks." The nurse answered, smoothing the bed-covers. Aina sighed, flopping her head back onto the pillow.

"I see." Aina muttered, her finger twitching, the Driver's fact floating to the surface of her mind. "...What about Gorou?"

"He'll recover." the Nurse assured her, smiling. Aina nodded, content with that simple answer for now. She needed to be told straightforward facts right now- something clear for Aina to hold on to, a safety net almost.

"You should get some rest, Miss Yumataiya." Haniware said eventually, who apparently been in deep thought. He looked up at the nurse. "Mieko, would you stay here for a moment? Mr. Kujima and myself wish to speak outside."

Mieko barely had time to nod before Mr. Kujima promptly left, without looking at Aina. Perplexed, Doctor Haniware followed him. Outside, Mr. Kujima looked at the door before speaking, apparently making sure it was totally closed before talking.

"She doesn't seem to remember much yet, does she?" he said, softly. Doctor Haniware raised his eyebrows.

"She has only just woken up, Mr. Kujima. Right now, we-"

"...I just wonder what the scans are going to say. You've said it seems similar to traumatic amnesia, but she doesn't remember the accident at all, either. In fact, Aina didn't seem to notice her arm until you pointed it out."

"We haven't got all the results, Mr. Kujima. Be patient." replied Doctor Haniware, a little waspishly. Mr. Kujima sighed and nodded, deferentially. He looked at Aina through the window- She appeared to have fallen back into sleep.

"I wonder...how much memory she really has lost."

Aina dozed on; oblivious to the conversation the two men had just had outside. Mieko cast her an almost curious look as Aina sighed softly in her sleep, her dreams allowing her to soar once again...

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For some reason, writing this with english honoufics is annoying me. But I can always change it, I guess. Sorry I haven't mentioned AL in this chapter, but don't worry about that.

Keep an eye out for the next chapter! I'll try to update earlier this time. 


	3. Something new

Once again, sorry for the slightly postponed update. I had quite a lot of fun with this chapter.

Enjoy!

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It was an irritated Aina that left the hospital a few weeks later. During her time there, all she had been able to think about was as much as she could recollect about the past events, ranging from when she was five to last Tuesday. But she still felt like something wasn't quite right. Bits and piece of past events kept going missing, sometimes vanishing into the dark corners of her mind, others popping up in places where they didn't belong.

Aina was even struggling to discern what were actually memories and what weren't. For reasons that the lavender-haired woman couldn't comprehend, things such as scene from films or books or even simply stories other people had told Aina over the past were insisting to her mind that they were, in fact, her memories.  
Aina had irritably dismissed them every time an erroneous thought surfaced into her mind, but it still nagged at the back of her head that this didn't seem _right_. She supposed that all she could do was blame the accident and pick up the pieces.

Rubbing at the bridge of her nose with mild irritation, Aina fumbled for her house-key. She was reasonably reassured to know that her maid, Fuji, would have made sure that her apartment was in good condition for when Aina was discharged.

_"Or at least, she better have."_ Aina, feeling slightly irritable at this thought, finally fishing out her key. Twisting it into the lock, Aina pushed open the door. She saw immediately that Fuji had not neglected to do her job, although she had simply left Aina's post on a stack on the kitchen table. Aina closed the door behind her and collected the letters, flicking through them and tossing almost all of them into the bin. Sighing, Aina put her purse on the table and then busied herself by making a drink.

She had just settled down on the sofa when her phone rang. Making an annoyed noise in the back of her throat, Aina reached over and picked it up, managing in a voice of forced calm,

"Hello?"

"Aina! You're finally hope! Doctor Haniware to tell me you'd been discharged so I did think that you might have-"

Aina held the phone away from her ear, grimacing as the speaker chattered on at an irritatingly high-pitched and fast rate. When she paused to take a breath, Aina returned the phone to her ear as she got up and went over to the table, digging out a couple of headache tablets from her bag and then returning to her seat.

"-So then I che-"

"Manami."

As soon as Aina spoke, her sister fell into a quick silence, stifling her last word with a small 'oh!' before quietening. Aina sighed slightly. This was so typical of Manami, who was quite opposite to both her sisters. Aina, the eldest, was the bossy, calmer one. Manami was always the ditzy, loud, overbearing one. And the youngest of the three of them, Yua, was quieter and the most adventurous of them.

"Manami, I'm fine." Aina reported, opting to miss out on informing Manami of her headache, otherwise she would probably have to put up with her sister rushing around her apartment, baking pastries and insisting she stay three nights in a row at least to help Aina through her migraine.  
While Aina appreciated her sister's concern, she really, really wanted to be alone. "How's Yua?"

"Oh, she's still in Thailand." Manami answered cheerfully, "She doesn't know yet."

Then Manami gasped, making Aina's upper lip twitch a little. She could just picture Manami now, clasping a hand to her mouth in guilt and, sure enough,

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that! I'm sure Yua will be very worried when-"

"Manami, you're doing enough worrying for the three of us." Aina replied dryly, pleased to note that her headache was slowly growing fainter. Manami went on at this, as if picking up a queue, explaining about how this person had told her that, and she decided to go there to check on this.

Aina had to smile at that, the first one she had managed since the accident. She had been concerned that people would be tip-toeing around her, possibly constantly asking her if she felt alright and refraining from being too boisterous.

Aina wasn't too worried about Yua or Fuji. She was more concerned with how her parents were going to react, judging by the alarmed reaction from her Manager, Mr. Kujima. She felt a sudden rush of affection toward her sister, but she still really wanted to hang up and go have a nice-long bath. Or even just to sleep for a little bit. The hospital had been stiflingly hot and noisy, meaning Aina got about five hours sleep, maximum per night.

"Look, Manami, I'm going to have to go now." Aina said, throwing on her I'm-a-very-busy-person voice. "There's a few things I need to-"  
"Oh, sure, no problem!" chirruped Manami cheerfully, causing her elder sister to wince across the line. Her headache wasn't _quite_ gone yet. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Sure." Aina agreed, then hung up. A silence suddenly rose in the apartment, and Aina massaged wearily at her forehead with her index and middle fingers.

Back to basics, then.

* * *

"Well, you certainly are good at re-bounding, Miss Aina." Fuji smiled, tucking a strand of her lengthy wavy green hair behind her ear.  
"I don't like to fall behind on things." shrugged Aina, cupping her hands around the white polystyrene cup of coffee.

The whole kitchen smelled of freshly made coffee and anti-bacteria spray. An interesting combination, Aina remarked wryly in her hair. She didn't know whether or not she ought to be drinking high-caffienated drinks so soon after coming out of hospital, but she didn't like to allow the whole ordeal to restrict her too much.

"Well, I should get going." Aina announced after finishing her coffee, easily tossing in into the shiny silver bin that stood in the corner of the kitchen. It bounced off the wall, lightly speckling the pale yellow walls with soft brown droplets.  
"Damn."

"It's alright, Miss Yumataiya, I'll do it." Fuji said quickly, hurrying over to the wall and soaking a piece of kitchen towel. Aina shook her head slightly. Fuji had been Aina's maid for over a year now, but she still insisted on calling her Miss Yumataiya.

Aina didn't particularly mind, since she had a similar habit. That was partly why she had hired Fuji, since her soft demeanour seemed to calm Aina down when she happened to be around. Plus, she did her work and she did it quickly.

"All right. I should be back later in the afternoon." Aina sighed, exiting the apartment, wearing another one of her Yukata's, which was in a pale blue and lightly scattered with small white flowers around the sleeves and hem. In her hand, Aina held her fuchsia-pink bag.

It was quite busy in the huge mall, but this left Aina unfazed. She liked crowded places, for some odd reason. She supposed it was simply because you could lose yourself in a crowd- The blurred faces and half-conversations that you caught from passers-by were all you got. It was somehow gratifying, really, that even if you were the most famous thing around, in a crowd you could easily just be another face.

Aina hated it when crowds stood still, though. Then you had to put up with strangers a lot more then you wanted to.  
Currently, Aina felt herself merely drifting around the huge chopping centre. She did not actually have any particular plans that day- She just wanted to get out on her own for a bit without being constantly interrogated by people why she was going there, and did she remember everything. It was really quite tiresome.

Then, abruptly, Aina found herself suddenly making her way through a rather busy shop. She couldn't really tell what it was selling- All manner of things, by the look of it, when she abruptly noticed a crowd of people standing around a circular table. Curious, but not wanting to have to get that up-and-close to the people surrounding it, Aina ascended a set of white stairs nearby, then peered over the white plastic railings to watch whatever was going on.

It proved to be a good vantagepoint, as she could see two people sitting in rather odd-looking chairs. The chairs themselves looked metallic and like they were straight out of a science fiction film. The two people (A boy and girl, both around eleven.) were also wearing something that looked like winged sunglasses.

"Go, Hani!"

A small doll that had long, sweeping hair suddenly thrown onto the table. Aina stared at it, one eyebrow raised. Then, to her shock, the doll flipped at the last minute and landed on her feet on the pink table. Then the boy did the same thing, throwing a small male doll with a long white trenchcoat onto the platform. The dolls began fighting each other, egged on by cheers from the small audience.

"What's going on?" Aina asked aloud, to nobody in particular. A teenaged girl with reddish hair turned around.  
"It's Angelic Layer!" The girl announced, sounding quite pleased about it. Aina looked at her blankly. The girl sighed and pointed at the table.  
"Those dolls are Angels. You can make them move and stuff if you throw 'em onto the Layer and use the helmets to control them."

Aina frowned slightly. The name sounded quite strange, but oddly familiar to her. She couldn't place where she had heard it before. Perhaps she read it in a magazine, or something.

"So it's some kind of virtual reality?" Aina questioned in a somewhat quiet voice. The girl nodded the turquoise clips in her hair glittering in the harsh lights of the shop, oblivious to the sudden shift in the mood of the conversation.

"Something like that." shrugged the girl, then turned around to carry on watching the fight. The girl seemed to be winning, her dark grey-green eyes shining behind her helmet's pink visor. The boy, who had dusty brown hair and amber-coloured eyes.

"Come on, Mi-kun, you can do better then that!" giggled the girl, as her Angel punched the boy's Angel hard in the chest, making the tiny marionette stagger backwards. Mikio stuck out his tongue in reply, making his Angel jab at Hani. Hani retaliated by attempting a box-kick, which the second Angel blocked with his forearm.

"How's that, Ama-chan?" Mikio chortled, his Angel aiming several more punches at Hani, who blocked the majority of them and kicked out.

Aina had seen enough, and she turned away from the crowd and headed back down the steps, sweeping past the crowd with a slight smile on her face. Her sandals squeaked slightly as she hurried through the shops, glancing here and there at the merchandise scattered about.

Then, she stopped so abruptly that she teetered backwards slightly. Something caught her attention.

A stand stood opposite Aina, a banner over it that depicting a large turquoise egg with what looked like a small, pink-haired Angel inside. Below that, the words Angelic Layer were printed in bright green font. On the stand stood a huge pink box, with several other Angelic Layer merchandise standing around it.

Aina walked slowly over to the stand until she stood right below the banner. Picking up the box, she stared at the cover, her eyes looking suddenly intent as she examined the small, featureless blue doll in the centre. Grabbing several more boxes and glancing nervously over her shoulder, Aina headed quickly for the checkout.

As the price flashed up on the till, Aina wordlessly handed the clerk her credit card. She felt almost breathless, and there was an odd stirring feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt almost like she was being watched, like this was the beginning of something.

But what?

* * *

Like it? Leave a review, for they are my source of power!


	4. Pick up the Pieces

Ahh, it seems I'm a tad late updating again. But luckily, a sudden RI burst of inspiration came to me! So, here's the latest chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Yes. Yes, I quite underst...no, sir. No, I'll be sure to tell them soon. Thank you. Thank you. Goodbye."

Manami's index finger clicked the end call button, putting the phone back with a sigh. She paced her kitchen, bare feet making soft pattering noises on the clean tiles. She twisted a strand of fuchsia-pink hair around her finger, a habit that she seemed to be revisiting lately. Then, a familiar chiming noise rang out from the house, making the woman jump slightly. Going to the door, it took Masami a moment longer then it should have to open it.

"Hello?"

"Yo."

A young woman stood in the doorway, hands in her pockets. Her hair was flowing down almost to her knees, and she had her head cocked to one side. The scent of spearmint hung in the air, and there was a lethargic sort of aura about her. A backpack in neon green hung nonchalantly on her back.

"Yua!" squealed Manami, without preamble, flinging her arms around her younger sister and hugging her to her somewhat ample breasts, "You're home! Oh, oh, do come in!"

"Manami, you're hurting me."

Manami giggled an apology; practically pulling a nonplussed Yua behind her, kicking the door daintily shut with her foot. Immediately, Manami began to bustle around the kitchen, while Yua casually plonked herself on one of the swivel chairs by the kitchen counter, looking with mild interest around the cheerful kitchen.

"Your favourite flavour is still blackberry, right?" inquired Manami, holding the aforementioned fruit in her hand. Yua grinned.

"You forgot to ask if I want a smoothie, but yeah. Oh, and add a kiwi if you've got any."

Manami flicked the blender on, explaining apologetically that she didn't have any kiwi. Yua merely shrugged, snapping her gum loudly.

"Well, was your holiday nice?" Manami inquired cheerily, placing a deep purple smoothie in a tall glass in front of Yua. Yua's colbalt blue eyes flicked up to Manami's, which were warm and looked genuinely interested.

"Nevermind Thailand. I came back because I got your message." Yua answered, and Manami's smile suddenly dropped. She looked down at her own strawberry smoothie, hands clasped in her lap. "About Aina." added Yua, as if to fill silence.

"The doctors say she has amnesia." Manami replied softly, her voice trembling with emotion. "They aren't completely sure if she just has one type or whether it's more complex. They discharged her a few days ago at her request, but..."

"Is it safe to discharge her so early?" Yua asked, absently stirring her smoothie with her finger, the crushed ice making soft crunching noises as she did so. "I mean, what if she forgets where she is or something?"

"Doctor Haniware said it looks like her amnesia is Post-Traumatic. Gorou told him she hit her head during the crash, so that's probably the cause. But the thing is, she's not forgetting things in the present, but when asked about simple things like the first birthday she remembered, she couldn't answer him. It was called..."

Manami's forehead creased in concentration for a moment.

"Retrograde amnesia? Yes, that's it. So it seems as though she can be left on her own, but she won't remember much of the past."

Yua nodded. Her eyes were narrowed, but more in thought then anger.

"Do mom and dad know yet?" Yua eventually asked, taking a sip of her smoothie through a plastic red straw. Manami shook her head, speaking in an oddly quiet way.

"I tried to contact dad, but he's still away on business. And you know how difficult it is to reach mom if dad's not around."

"Yeah, I know." sighed Yua, tossing her head with an impatient jerk of her head. "I don't think she's forgiven me for moving out yet."

"It's because you're the youngest." replied Masami affectionately, as Yua smirked and rolled her eyes. "She just has a hard time letting go."

Then, without warning, Manami suddenly burst into tears. Yua would have been surprised at this rapid switch at emotion, but she knew that Manami's naturally caring nature was already troubled by the accident, and Yua had grown up with Manami and knew her tendency to over-feel well.

"Manami, don't." Yua said authoritatively, but there was softness in her voice that she didn't often use. "Come on, stop it. Please."

Manami took a deep, shuddering breath, her shoulders convulsing slightly. Yua allowed her backpack to slide off her narrow shoulders, pulling out a packet of tissues from the side pocket, sliding them across the counter. Manami picked one up, dabbing at her face and nose. Yua reached out and gently touched her wrist.

After a few seconds, Manami had calmed down enough for Yua to say,

"Manami, Aina's going to get through this. You can't take responsibility for everything."

"I know." Manami sniffed mournfully, putting a hand to her own cheek and exhaling. "But I just...I feel like she's in trouble and we can't do anything!"

"Why?" Yua asked, raising her eyebrows in confusion.

"Because she's our sister and there's something wrong with her!" cried Manami, tears in her eyes. "And I don't know how to help her, Yua! She's always looked after us, because she's our big sister, but now it's our turn and I feel so...lost. Aina just won't accept extra help."

"That's the way she's always been, Manami." Yua replied, "If I was in Aina's position, I wouldn't want people rushing around trying to do everything for me either. We just have to pick up the pieces and be there for her. Sooner or later, she'll open up. We just have to give her time."

Manami sniffed, nodding her head.

"You're so right, Yua." she agreed tearfully. "I'm...I'm just so worried about her."

"Well, duh." Yua teased, standing up and returning her backpack to its original place, the green standing out against the beige of her sleeveless jacket. "Anyway, I just came over to get the details and check up on you. So don't worry so much, okay?"

"What, you're going?" Manami asked in surprise. "Already?"

"Yeah. I'm moving in to Aina's apartment."

"What?!" squeaked Manami, her eyes widening in surprise. "I didn't know she knew you were home!"

"She doesn't. I'm going to her place tomorrow. First I'm gonna talk to whatshisface. Mr. Kujima."

Manami blinked in confusion, her hand automatically reaching up to her hair and twisting it.

"Mr. Kujima? Why?"

"I want to know what he's going to do about Aina's job. I mean, she's hardly fit to play Angelic Layer right now, is she?"

Manami 's hair was rapidly turning in to a home-made braid, but she nodded.

"And stop laying with your hair." Yua said, pointing a finger with a chipped fingernail, "It's annoying!"

Manami blushed and dropped her hand.

"Yes, I suppose...Yua, can I come with you? I wanted to speak to Doctor Haniware anyway, about contacting mom and dad."

Yua's hand reached out for the door handle, her back partially covered by hair mane of hair. She turned her head and grinned.

"Sure."

* * *

Aina tucked a strand of her behind her ear. The train was rattling in a hypnotically soothing manner, and she had to sit completely upright to make sure she wasn't about to drift off on the seat. A dark blue handbag rested on her lap, the spangle fringe glittering slightly in the dim artificial lighting. Aina sighed, feeling as though she had been riding the train for an eternity.

Shaking her head, she suddenly caught sight of herself in the mirror. She turned and looked at herself, her eyes staring almost reproachfully back at her, unblinking.

I look so tired. Aina thought to herself, pushing aside her slightly overgrown fringe to peer at the faint but dark circles underneath her eyes.

_Who are you? _Aina found herself asking, pressing the pads of her fingers against the glass, staring at her reflection. _Where did you come from?_

"Next stop! All passengers getting off at-"

Aina jumped. She had forgotten what she was doing. Turning back, she eased herself out of her seat, grabbing her handbag and then ducking underneath her chair for a pale green plastic bag. She had been down in the shopping district, having read the Angelic Layer manual to realise she had forgotten an important purchase.

Stepping out into the warm spring evening, Aina inhaled slowly as she headed for home, the fingers that were wrapped around the handles of the plastic bag tingling slightly.

It was time to make an Angel.


	5. An Angel, reborn

Greeting, readers!

Sorry I'm a little late with this installment, and I also apologise that it's quite a short one again. Just thought I'd mention as well, the MiniLayer is a sort of new development for AL, since this fic is set a few years later from the manga, and also from my other AL fic, Beneath the ice.

Anyway, enjoy!

_

* * *

_

_Please enter a name for your Angel._

Aina stared thoughtfully at her computer screen, the tip of her index finger resting on the corner of her mouth.

Since she had arrived back at her apartment, Aina had quickly unpacked the various Angelic Layer paraphernalia that she had bought and taken it all into her 'computer area', which she hadn't used for months. It was a very small room, not much bigger then your average bathroom, but Aina disliked doing work in large areas, because she always noticed things that could be done instead of work in big rooms.

Undecided, Aina glanced at the small figure that was currently hovering in the orange-tinted cylinder, the light oddly bright in the dim room.

The Angel had short black hair, though the very tips of it glowed a dark green in the light. Her eyes were closed, but even shut you could see that they were wide and somewhat slanted. The Angel was tall and willowy, her head bowed. Her hair almost seemed to be moving, as if a slight breeze was occurring within the cylinder.

The screen blinked at her impatiently. Aina frowned very slightly, shaking her head to get her bangs out of her face. She eyed the keyboard cautiously, as though she was expected something different to happen any moment.

Watching the small figure, Aina suddenly had a flash of inspiration, her mind seeming to click into place.

Smiling slighlty, Aina watched her own thin white fingers as they finally typed something in, the keys clicking loudly as she clumsily entered the name.

_Belladonna.  
_

Manami had a hand it to her youngest sister. She was one cool customer.

"Well, you can't tell me you don't have one." Yua was saying to an indignant-looking man behind the counter, stabbing the surface of the desk with her finger. "It's not so much to ask, is it? It's just a roster. You won't get _fired_ or anything, right?"

"No!" protested the bespectacled man, rifling through a sizeable stack of papers. The tag attached to his shirt read, _Junichi Mukesuro_.

"However, you can't just barge in here and demand a roster! I can't just hand it over to you, you know! You have to follow the protocol, and-"

"Look, this is for investigation purposes, okay?" Yua cut across, glaring at him. Behind her, Manami flinched. "I'm Aina Yumataiya's sister. I just want the roster from three months ago. The Kyoko Tournament?"

"Aina Yumataiya?" repeated Junichi, frowning and adjusting his glasses. "I fail to see the signifi-"

"Do you not READ?" demanded Yua, reaching into her pocket and throwing a small folded-up piece of paper at him. "She was in an accident! You know, the accident that's pulled her out of the next upcoming Angelic Layer Tournament?"

"Oh! I see..." he mumbled, looking cowed as he scanned the article, his eyes lingering over Aina's picture, "Yes, I remember now...yes, Miss Yumataiya was in..."

Then he smiled, in a slightly dazed manner. With the oddly dreamily look on his face, he opened a crimson filing cabinet to his left and pulled out a file, thumbing through it and mumbling to himself.

"Ah! Here we are..."

Pulling out a sheet of paper, the man handed it over to Yua, who took it looking startled.

"Um, thank you?" she said, surprised at his sudden co-operation. She scanned the sheet, Aina's name written in neat typed print at the bottom, along with all the other contestants.

"Is that the one you wanted, Yua?" questioned Manami, reading it over Yua's shoulder. Yua nodded and began folding it into neat corners, the same way she had folded the newspaper cutting.

"Yup, that's it. Now we need to go back to find Doctor Haniware...that blonde nurse might be able to tell us where he is. What was her name? Mido?"

"Mieko." corrected Manami, beginning to head towards the automatic doors. Yua started after her, then turned back to Junichi, who was still staring at the article, the paper spread flat across the surface of the desk.

"Hey, can I have that back?" Yua said to him, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. Junichi jumped, startled, and handed the paper back over, coughing into his fist.

"Yes, Aina Yumataiya...you said she was your sister?"

"Yeah." affirmed Yua, unwrapping a stick of her spearmint gum, popping the white strip into her mouth. Junichi nodded again, and then a slightly smirky smile came over his face.

"Your sister is pretty."

Yua scowled slightly and shot the ball of wrapper at his head with a flick of her fingers.

"Pervert."

* * *

Belladonna dashed across the surface of the MiniLayer, her arms slightly behind her as she ran, her footsteps swift and precise as she moved, her legs bending and unbending so quickly it looked like she would suddenly fly at any moment.

Aina watched Belladonna's process, feeling slightly pleased with herself. At first, she had been wondering about what her drawn her so much into buying an Angel- They were, in retrospective, dolls, and Aina had a vague suspicion that they hadn't been designed for adults. But now that she had finally finished designing Belladonna and was fairly happy with the result, she had changed her mind about her decision.

Belladonna abruptly stopped, twirling slowly so that Aina could take in her Angel, now that she was on a portable Layer.

Bella's design was fairly simple. The Angel wore a white, slightly gothic dress, the straps of it cut at an angle so that they obscured the joints on Belladonna's shoulders. On her feet she wore white go-go boots. Aina had toyed with the idea of leaving her barefoot, but in the end decided against it. On her wrists, the Angel wore two bangles in dark blue, and they tended to slip up and down the thin wrist of the angel. Her eyes, as it turned out, were a dark green. They reminded Aina of ivy leaves.

Just as Aina was toying with the thought of going to have a bath, there was a loud knocking on the door. Sighing, Aina pulled off her helmet, laying it carefully on the MiniLayer, before bending down and unplugging it. Picking Belladonna up and sliding her into the pocket of her yukata, she went off to the door, hoping that it was only the postman or someone.

So Aina was quite surprised to see Yua standing there, a backpack drooping off her shoulder, and a distinct scent of spearmint chewing gum in the air around her.

"Hey." greeted Yua, smiling one of her slow, impish smiles, snapping her gum.

"Yua!" Aina said in surprise, tucking a strand of her behind her ear, "How long have you been back in Japan?"

"Coupla days." shrugged Yua. She peered around Aina's shoulder, and Aina marvelled at how long Yua's hair had grown. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, yes, of course." Aina replied, stepping back and heading to the kitchen, "Um, would you like something to eat? I haven't been shopping recently, though."

"No, I had a big lunch earlier. Manami treated me." Yua explained, sauntering over to the sofas and flopping down on one, her bag landing on the rug in front of it. "Do you still have that maid? Um...Fumiko?"

"Fuji." correct Aina absently, closing the door and crossing the room to close the window. "Yes, I still have her around."

"I like her." Yua hummed, looking around the apartment with an approving gaze. "But anyway, I guess I'll be seeing a lot more of her soon, anyway."

"Oh?" Aina asked, amused at her youngest sibling's pretentiousness. "Why is that?"

"Well," Yua started, turning her head around and fixing Aina with another impertinent little grin, and then said, completely unabashed, "I'm here to move in with you."

* * *


	6. Fear of the Unknown

Hello readers! Happy (late) New Year!

I tried to make this chapter a bit longer, and it looks like I managed it!

To TailKinker: The MiniLayer already exists? Gah! I really need to start watching more of the anime. I only got up to about episode 16 or so...

Archer Ri-chan: Whoops! Can't believe I forgot to mention Yua's hair colour. Mainly because I was torn between purple and light green, but it would seem a bit weird if her whole family were lavender-coloured and she just had green hair. Thanks for pointing that out!

Anyways, enjoy!

_

* * *

_

_"I hate you!"  
"You're a child! You don't know what you want!"  
"Don't tell me-!"  
"Stop it, all of you! Why do you have to be like this?!"  
"You never listen. You just never listen..."_"...!!"

Aina jolted up in bed with a shock. A bead of sweat trickled down the back of the collar of pyjamas. Leaning forwards, she pushed her bangs out of her eyes, her body was trembling. Looking around the room, Aina could still hear a faint ringing in her ears.

"What that a dream?" Aina muttered to herself, throwing the covers back, feeling suddenly hot and clammy. She wanted to open a window, but she also didn't want to leave her bed. "What was that?"

_"I hate you!"_

That voice...

_"Stop it, all of you! Why do you have to be like this?!"_

They were both so familiar...

_You never listen. You just never listen._

The fourth voice was hers. Aina's hand went to her own throat, as though the words were still in her throat. The second voice, the one arguing the first, had belonged to a woman. All of them were female, but the second was definitely of someone older.

Aina glanced around her small bedroom, and she suddenly felt like she was in a snowstorm. She felt small and vulnerable and afraid.

"Afraid of _what_?!" Aina muttered, furiously, "What am I so scared of?"

Suddenly, there was a rapping on the door.

"Ai? You okay?"

Yua. Aina lay back down, staring up at the ceiling.

"Go back to sleep, Yua." she called, her hands unconsciously clutching at her sheets. _Please. Stay away._

The floorboard outside Aina's room creaked. A couple of seconds later, the light in the hall flicked back off, footsteps padded softly along the hall and Yua was gone.

* * *

"Remind me why I put up with these things." remarked Chishin, eyeing the T.V with amusement.

"'Cause you love me really." giggled Manami, nudging Chishin playfully with her elbow.

Manami and her boyfriend of almost three years, Chishin Tatekuno, were scrunched up on Manami's sofa, watching one of Manami's favourite chick-flicks, having just reached the second half of the film.

"I just don't understand how you can still act surprised at this film when you've seen it at least eighty-thousand times." Chishin teased, running his hand lazily through Manami's shoulder-length, newly washed hair.

"Mean." Manami answered, leaning into Chishin's shoulder as the black-haired girl onscreen just missed her train; "It was only forty thousand last time I checked!"

Chishin rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling, staring at Manami's profile with his fallow-coloured eyes. He had to admit that it was nice to spend time with his girlfriend like this again, since she had been spending the past couple of week's running back and forth from the hospital and constantly calling her sister on the phone.  
Chishin felt bad for Aina, but it was a nice change to have Manami all to himself. He wondered vaguely if Manami had even noticed how much time had passed since the accident, or even if she realised how absent-minded her older sister had become.

"Popcorn?"

Manami was holding the bowl out to Chishin, jerking him out of his train of thought. She was smiling, so Chishin took a handful and stuffed it into his mouth, even though he didn't particularly like the stuff that much.

"Are you all right, Chishi?" inquired Manami, using her nickname for him. Chishin glanced at her, his ember-red hair twitching slightly at he moved.

"Well, I thought I should show you this," he mentioned, pulling a rolled-up magazine out of the spacious pocket of his jacket. Blinking in puzzlement, Manami took it, the magazine flopping open at a page that Chishin had turned the corner down on.

"This is..."

_Angelic Layer is BACK!_

That's right, everyone! After the heated battle of the Kyoto tournaments two years ago, the Kyoto tournaments are back up! And that's not all, we'll be saying hello to the old Deus's of the tournament as well. Turn to page 50 for more-

"It lists the contestants of the Kyoto tournament, back in August?" Chishin said, watching Manami, "Aina isn't listed there. Even though she was runner-up."

Manami stared at the list, her eyes, and the same pale blue as her sister's, scanned the names of the Deus. The name at the top of the list read _Mimiko Jubi._

"But...how could she be removed from the roster?" stammered Manami, re-reading it a third time. "She..._we_ went to that tournament, when we were first dating! Don't you remember?"

"It was our fourth date." nodded Chishin, remembering when Manami had excitedly dragged him to the balcony seats to oversee Aina's match, "You'd only introduced me to Aina and Yua a few weeks before that, at the beach house."

Manami nodded, and Chishin watched as her hand travelled nervously up to her hair, twisting one of the slightly longer bangs that obscured her ears around her finger, which she always did when she was worried.

"I...I don't understand this." Manami muttered, the film completely forgotten now. "Why...?"

"There's probably a reasonable explanation behind it." Chishin said, calmly, "But I just thought you should see it...maybe Aina pulled out of the upcoming tournament?"

"But I don't think she knew about it." Manami replied, now playing with the silver bracelets adorning her wrist, "I mean, this has only just been announced. I don't think she could have known this ahead of time."

They were quiet for a moment, Chishin wishing he hadn't shown Manami the damn list now. But she would have probably stumbled across it again somehow. He knew that.

"Well, I suppose there's not much we can do about it, now." mumbled Manami, unconvincingly. Chishin nodded, removing the magazine again. So the couple settled back into watching the movie, but neither of them seemed to be really concentrating on it anymore.

* * *

Yua Yumataiya was sprawled out on the squashy sofa at her older sister's apartment. Aina had previously gone out to buy more food, having after having grudgingly accepted the fact that Yua was indeed moving in.

Aina hadn't been pleased at all with the news at first, but once Yua promised that she'd clean up after herself and not just over run the place, Aina had set about making room for her youngest sister. As it turned out, they got on a lot better then Aina had expected, although occasionally Yua had to be poked in the right direction.

Yua slurped at her drink nosily, tipping the can upside down to get at the last of the juice. Aina, who was at the computer, ignored her. She tossed it in the vague direction of the bin, which missed entirely. Yua groaned under her breath but didn't get up.

"Yua." Aina said, without turning around from the computer. Yua rolled her eyes.

"Just a minute." she yawned.

"_Yua_."

"Okay, okay." sighed Yua, pushing herself off the sofa to retrieve the can, the black material slippery under her fingers, "Don't be anal."

Aina didn't say anything. She just gave her a look.

"Sorry." Yua said quickly, tossing the can high and batting it in the bin. Aina just rolled her eyes and resumed her typing. Yua had to admire her eldest sister's non-verbal communication skills. Aina could be scary when she wanted to be.

"By the way, I was talking to Haniware yesterday." Yua then said, all nonchalance, "He said he'd already told you to steer clear from work for a while?"

"Yes, that's right." replied Aina, barely moving her eyes from the computer screen. Yua wondered if Aina was addicted to it or something.

"He explained that it's better that I fully recover before pushing myself. He already explained it to Kujima and the office."

"Office?" repeated Yua, puzzled.

"The office, Yua." sighed Aina, with the air of someone explaining something very simple to somebody slightly dim and speaks a different language, "You know, my _job_?"

* * *

Grudgingly, Yua had to admit that Katsutoshi Kujima was definitely good-looking. She glared at him from her chair as he rummaged through the files. She wasn't entirely sure what it was, but it was annoying her. Seaweed coloured bangs fell over Kujima's light green eyes, and to Yua's chagrin she found herself blushing slightly.

"No, I don't have the file." Kujima finally concluded, putting the papers back down with a resigned sigh.

Yua scowled again, willing herself to stop blushing.

"That can't be it." she practically snapped, "You're her manager! Why don't you have any of her old records? Isn't that your, like, _job_?"

Kujima finally looked at Yua directly, looking quite irritated at her precariousness, and Yua fidgeted uncomfortably, feeling suddenly like she was six years old and had just been sent to the Principal's office or something. Ridiculous.

"Don't you have anything better to do then tell me how to do my job?" retorted Kujima, "I'm busy, Miss Yumataiya, and I don't need a nineteen-year-old barging into my office and giving me all these pointless instructions."

"Pointless?" spluttered Yua, indignantly. "At least I'm bothering to _do_ something here! My sister's forgotten about a year and a half's worth of her life, but if I ask for a simple file, well, that's going TOO FAR, is it?"

"What exactly is it you want me to say to you?" Kujima countered, fidgeting around in a drawer in his desk, "You want congratulations? 'Oh, how awesome, you've found a few files with Aina's name on them and have successfully harassed everybody in the process. Well done Yua, Aina is sure to remember everything now!'?"

"I didn't say that." muttered Yua, feeling foolish but also angry.

"Really?" drawled Kujima, lighting up a cigarette and shooting a disparaging glance at Yua, "Then what do you want to get out of all this?"

"I don't know!" burst out Yua, standing up, flicking her long purple hair over her shoulder, "But at least I'm doing something. Anything. But I can't just sit around when Aina's like this."

Kujima eyed Yua again; this time looking considerably less pissed off. Lazily, he got up and circled the desk, opening the door behind Yua and blowing out a small cloud of grey-blue smoke. Yua took that as a signal for her to leave.

"My advice, Miss Yumataiya." Kujima commented, as Yua was almost at the staircase, "Go back to your day job. I don't think you're cut out to be a detective."


	7. Smoke and Mirrors

Hello readers!

Oh, my god, I haven't been able to write anything except ESSAYS lately. So many goddamn exams. Ugh. Now I know why people don't generally like May. But I _eventually_ finished this chapter, which is a little longer then usual, so that's good. Also, apologies for the general short-ness of my earlier chapters. Maybe I should rewrite them at some point. (Yeah, like I have time.) Thank you everyone for your reviews! They keep me going!

Enjoy!

* * *

"Yua, is it really okay we're sneaking around back here?"

"It's not _sneaking_." argued Yua, sounding a little defensive, "We're _investigating_. That's not illegal, is it?"

"Well, technically, you have to be-"

Yua ignored Manami's correction and strolled forcefully forwards. She heard her older sister sigh with a mingle of exasperation and anxiety and hurry after her, her coat rustling as she moved. Yua had decided after her argument with Kujima to do a little probing herself, leading to this. Manami had no idea how Yua had managed to talk her into going to their local stadium and trying to get in through the back doors, but she was regretting agreeing to it more and more. Taking a deep breath, Manami tried again,

"Look, Yua, we can't just barge in here and start interrogating people. It's not as though we have a proper reason to be here-"

"Of COURSE we have a reason!" replied Yua, growing increasingly irritated, "Our sister was involved in this tournament, in case you've forgotten about that. And anyway, if they don't want people in here, they should watch it more carefully."

"Yes," answered Manami, patiently, deciding it wouldn't help if she pointed out to Yua that slipping past security hardly meant it justified them being there, "But people get in accidents all the time, Yua, and our sister having amnesia is hardly a good reason just to come marching in. What are we going to say if we get caught? Why are we even here?"

"Because I think there's something weird going on!" retorted Yua, spinning around to face her sister properly, finally having enough of Manami's questions, "Why has Aina been told she still works at her old job? She hasn't worked there ever since she started becoming a successful Angelic Layer Deus. Why didn't that Kujima guy have those files I wanted on Aina? And _why_ isn't her name on the Kyoto roster?"

"Maybe she's not meant to play Angelic Layer just yet?" suggested Manami, a little hurt by Yua's snappish voice, but also somewhat annoyed, as though her sister assumed she hadn't asked these questions herself already, "In case _you've_ forgotten, she's been involved in head trauma! And why should Mr. Kujima just give you her files, anyway? You don't get to access to private information just because you're her sister, you know!"

"And the roster?" demanded Yua, putting her hands on her hips.

"I don't know!" replied Manami, blushing a bit, "The magazine was talking about the upcoming tournament, maybe Aina's name wasn't on the roster because she's not entering it, so they can't compare her performance at Kyoto to the newest one? It wasn't even the official AL magazine; anyway, they only mentioned it because recently Angelic Layer hasn't been as popular as it has lately. That's what Chishi said."

"W-well, I suppose that might be," Yua muttered, looking a little bit embarrassed. Then she huffed a little defiantly, adding, "I just think it's a little odd that nobody's mentioned the tournament to Aina yet, that's all. And I want to know what happened the day of the accident."

"Kujima could have told her about it and she just hasn't mentioned it to _us_." suggested Manami, feeling a little relieved that Yua seemed to have forgotten her original purpose of sneaking into the back room of the stadium, "And what makes you think anybody in the last tournament would know? It's not like-"

"Hey! What are you people doing back here? Members of the public aren't allowed!" shouted a voice from behind the siblings, making them jump. They turned to see a security guard, holding a walky-talky and glowering at them. Yua gulped.

"Oh, crap."

* * *

Right, left, right.

As Aina's thought dictating her movements, Belladonna swirled in the glowing lights of the MiniLayer, her dress appearing a luminous pink as it flickered around her legs, the bangles on her thin wrists jingling very slightly. Aina had found practising with Belladonna to be a strangely exhilarating thing; like she was briefly connected with the Angel, like they could do anything. However, she had been practising for a while now, and both her eyes and head were beginning to ache.

The headaches, Aina had found out, although they usually came as quickly as they left, were frequent and sometimes came at really annoying moments. She had kept quiet about them for the most part, but she decided that she had been practising enough with Belladonna today. With some reluctance, Aina unplugged the MiniLayer and carefully placed Belladonna on her perch on Aina's computer, on the monitor.

As Aina stood up and turned to put away her helmet, her elbow hit something, a large book falling from her and onto the floor, nearly hitting her feet. Sighing, she bent down and picked it up, about to slot it anywhere it would fit, when it flopped open in her hand.

Curious, Aina realised that she was holding a photo album. And from the look of her and sisters, it was a fairly recent one. There were several snapshots of Aina, most of them with her looking vaguely unimpressed at whoever was trying to sneak a photo of her. There was one of Manami with Chishin, the background slightly blurring. A picture of Yua made Aina smile, as her youngest sister was attempting to push the camera out of the way, her opposite hand holding some sort of drink.

However, the smile was quickly wiped off her face as she flicked a little further through the photo album. People and places Aina couldn't remember started to appear, making her feel like she was looking at a photo of a stranger. The more she flipped through the pages, her eyes scanning it for anything, _anything_ she even remotely remembered, the more panicky she felt. When she reached the end of the book, she slammed it shut so suddenly that it fell from her limp grasp and this time really _did_ hit her foot, making her yell with pain. She took a step back from the book as though it might bite, shaking.

Aina suddenly felt so angry that it scared her. Angry at her situation. Angry at anything and everything that was being kept a secret from her. Angry with herself. For what reason, she didn't know.

Suddenly, she felt bile rising in her throat, and she rushed off to the bathroom, retching, just reaching the toilet in time. Aina felt so relieved that nobody was home, at that moment, because she felt so pathetic.

Aina retched again, her throat burning, tears stinging her eyes. Her mouth tasted like vomit, but when she leant over the toilet, all she could do was try not to cry before giving in and slumping back onto the cold tiles. She clutched onto the edge of the bath, her head swimming, like she had suddenly fallen into rapids and was trying to get out.

_"You don't care about me! All you care about is your goddamn career!"_

Aina heard the voice, loud, angry and clear, in her head. Her head jerked up, the voice startling her. Once again, it was unmistakably her own voice that she had heard. Aina stared around the steadily-darkening bathroom, her tears drying in crooked lines on her face, which she saw in the mirror above the sink, was pale and wan. Her day-old mascara made her look like a racoon.

"Fuck..." murmured Aina, her voice sounding thin and muffled, quiet even in the echoing bathroom. She hung her head, feeling more hot tears slide down her cheeks, dripping onto the floor. She had never felt more helpless in her life.

Slowly, she gripped the edge of the bath, pulling herself up into a sitting position, clutching the side of the bath as though her life depended on it. Her mind was racing, a weird pulsing sensation in her head. She was thinking about why she felt like this. Trying to retrace her feelings.

It wasn't even the accident that bothered her, because that's all it was- an accident.

What was bothering Aina that she didn't really know who she was, anymore. Losing her memory made her feel completely insignificant and out of control. She couldn't remember much of her job, her friends and even her memory on things she liked and didn't like was a little shaky. When people talked to her, Aina felt like she was trapped in a snowglobe- people moving on in the outer world while Aina was stuck in an anonymous world, isolated and lost.

And there was something else. Something she hadn't told anyone, something she had barely even acknowledged herself.

But truthfully, she was sort of scared of finding out what she had forgotten. Because when she did, what if she didn't like what she remembered? What if something horrible had happened to her that nobody would tell her about?

And, the one that was getting to her the most?

What if she didn't like being the person she remembered?

Aina slowly raised her head as she thought this last thought, her throat still burning, but a strange sensation creeping up on her. At first, she couldn't quite place it, and then she realised.

An idea;

Why remember?

Aina slowly brought her sleeve up to her face and wiped off her racoon make-up. She couldn't believe that she hadn't thought of this before; it seems like such an obvious thing to think. She glanced at the sleeve of her yukata, a black smudge on it, like a wet feather.

Why was she trying to hard to try and be someone she didn't know? Why not be a new person?

Aina smiled, if a little shakily.

Why not, indeed?

* * *

"Oh. my. GOD!"

"Please don't yell, Chikaze. I get headaches pretty easily nowadays." Aina reminded her.

Chikaze Taki and Midori Jutami, two of Aina's oldest friends, were currently gawking at Aina, who had just entered the cafe where she had arranged to meet up with them. Aina couldn't help but smile a little smugly at their reaction.

"But you look frickin' AMAZING!" announced Chikaze loudly, bouncing a little in her seat, her artfully messy blue hair barely moving out of its style. Chikaze always said exactly what she thought, exactly when she thought it, which usually made her seem either blunt or overly enthusiastic, but Aina knew that she meant it. Chikaze was somebody who could just naturally keep the conversation flowing.

"Yeah, it's hot," agreed Midori, smiling slightly in approval. Midori was, as usual, looking cool and chic, her pale green hair twisted up in a messy bun near the back of her head, tendrils of it escaping in sleek tendrils around her face.

Midori, by contrast to Chikaze, was usually aloof and introverted, although she had just as much confidence as Chikaze had. At times, it made her seem a little cold to other people, but she just did things subtly. It was something Aina loved about her two friends; they never held anything back from her, and they also never made her feel awkward and out-of-place. It was a nice change from Manami's overbearing concern and Yua's maddening nonchalance, or at least for Aina it was.

"What made you decide to do it?" Chikaze asked Aina now, rapidly stirring her coffee. Chikaze liked her coffee extremely bitter, so it was really nothing more then an amber-black whirlpool in her cup.

"I don't really know," shrugged Aina, sitting down between them and slinging her jacket behind her. "I just felt like a change. My old look was getting boring."

"I hate it when that happens," noted Midori in her melodious drawl, leaning back in her chair, her aquamarine vest-top glinting in the bright lights of the Cafe, "Because then you just start obsessing over getting new clothes that you can't afford."

"Oh, I _know_," sighed Chikaze, wistfully, "Like, I saw this totally sweet pair of electric blue boots yesterday, but they were so _expensive_..."

Aina smiled a little and flicked her hair behind her shoulders. Since she had pulled herself together in the bathroom, the thought about changing herself had persisted, and it wouldn't go away. So Aina, on a complete whim, had gone through her cupboard and thrown out quite a few of her old clothes, then headed straight down to a Hair Salon's and told them, straight out;

_"Make me completely different."_And so they did. Gone was Aina's soft-mauve hair, her too-long fringe and pastel-coloured yukata. When she had emerged from the Salon, she had become a honey-blonde, and been given a blunt fringe which made her eyes stand out. The wispy strands had been chopped off, the hairdresser managing to persuade Aina into buying a strange gel-like product that made her hair seem thicker, messier.

"You know, you look kinda like this girl I saw who was modelling some eye-shadow or somethin'..." mused Chikaze, thoughtfully. "What was her name? Don't remember. Hey, Aina, what do you wanna eat?"

"What I always have," replied Aina, with a mysterious smile. Chikaze blinked for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

* * *

Manami sighed to herself as she arrived home to an empty house. After spending an awkwardly twenty minutes trying to come up with a suitable reason for why she and Yua had been poking around the back room of the stadium, the security guard, clearly unimpressed, had told them to leave. Manami had been horribly embarrassed, but Yua had reacted as though it had nothing to do with them, defiant that she'd get back in somehow. Manami had bid her sister goodbye as soon as possible and taken a cab home; otherwise she would have quite cheerfully strangled her.

Just as Manami finished making herself a smoothie, the phone rang. Sighing again, she padded over to the phone, not really paying attention to the number that flashed up.

"Hello?" Manami inquired, hoping that it was somebody asking if she had double-glazing or something so she could get off the phone, pronto.

"Manami."

Manami's eyes widened as she heard the voice on the phone, a deep male voice. She was so surprised that it took her a second to fully register who was calling her.

"D-daddy?"


End file.
